User blog:DemonaCarrolltucky/Transportation - IC Card
=IC Cards - prepaid transportation= No more looking at maps you can’t read and fumbling with change. These are super useful cards! All train, bus, and monorail lines can be paid for with an IC card. You can also use them at convenience stores, vending machines, and sometimes shops. It is to your advantage to have an IC card since you can pay exact fare amounts and may even receive discounts. If you pay your fare by cash, some buses have been known to round up their prices to avoid smaller change. IC cards can be charged at any station, convenient store, and even the bus. TOKYO IC CARDS The two most common IC cards in Tokyo are Suica & Pasmo, but there are a variety of cards across Japan. Regional IC cards can be used, for the most part, all over Japan. There are a few lines not incorporated, but that should be fixed by 2020. REGISTERED IC CARDS Besides regular cards used for private use, there are personalized cards, commuter cards, and even cards for children. IC cards can be registered at the station machines, for a fee. If you ever lose your card, you can cancel your old one and be issued a new one with the last registered balance on it. The replacement fee is 500 yen. If you want to go the cheap route, you can always write down your contact details in permanent marker and hope a good Samaritan brings it to the ticket counter or nearest Koban. RETURNING AN IC CARD When you leave Japan, you can return your IC card and get the remaining balance from your card and the deposit, for a small fee. Suica and Pasmo are handled by different companies, so please be sure to go to the right location to return your IC card. *Suica (Fee 220 yen) Any JR Station in the Tokyo area. *Pasmo (Fee 220 yen) Any Non-JR Subway line. CUSTOMIZABLE If you don’t want to mistake your card for someone else’s or you just want to jazz up your card, you can buy stickers and other decorations for your card. These can be bought at convenience store, department stores, and online. RECHARGE IC CARD An IC card can only be loaded up to a maximum of 20,000 yen. IC cards can be recharge at a variety of different locations; tickets machines at any subway or train station, convenience stores, some stores, buses (provided it is not busy & in denominations of 1,000 yen), and auto recharge methods. AUTO RECHARGE CREDIT CARD / CASH CARD There are various credit cards and cash cards that double as an IC card. Some of them come with an option to automatically recharge the card when the remaining balance gets low. These cards are only available to residents of Japan. Depending on the card company you are with however, they may ask for an annual fee for this service. MOBILE PHONE Selected Japanese mobile iPhones and watches can be set up to serve as a Suica card, using the "Mobile Suica" app (available in Japanese only) or through registering a Suica card with Apple Pay. :Suica Mobile App Information EXPIRATION DATE If you do not use your card for 10 years, it will automatically expire. Should you wish to have a new card issued, you can have the remaining credit transferred to a new card. Otherwise, you can request a refund of the remaining balance and deposit for a fee of 220 yen. LOST IC CARD Should you have a personalized IC Card with your signature or a Commuter Pass IC Card, the chances of you getting your card back are good. Depending on location, you can go to the station's ticket Gate desk and ask if anyone has found your card. Otherwise, you go to the nearest Koban where you can report that your card is lost or stolen. Should your card be found, the Police will usually get in touch with you. Therefore, it is a good idea to either have your name or some kind of contact details on your IC Card. I have in fact lost my IC Card once and retrieved it back within 10 minutes at the Koban. TRAVEL HISTORY If you are using a IC Card and you need to budget your money, whether it be for transportation or E-Money payments, you can print out a Transaction History slip. Your remaining balance will be displayed and your transaction history printed up to the most recent 20 entries. This can be done at bus terminals or at the ticket machines in stations. LINKS *JR East - Fares & Passes *Suica User's Guide *Suica & Pasmo Network Map *Additional IC Card Information Category:Blog posts Category:Daily Life Category:Transportation Category:JET Blogs Category:Travel Category:Setting Up